KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 — The High Court in George Town today fined a 23-year-old woman RM10,000 for throwing her newborn out of a window five years, in lieu of prison.
Justice Rofiah Mohamad said the court considered M Santhiea’s three-month detention in 2020 and 2021, her emotional breakdown in court last month, and her diagnosis of major depressive disorder, Free Malaysia Today reported.
The judge said Santhiea showed deep remorse, endured public shame, and remained at risk of suicide, according to psychiatric and welfare reports.
She said a rehabilitative approach would be more suitable than a punitive one, noting that prison could worsen Santhiea’s fragile mental health.
A social welfare report had warned the court that Santhiea was at high risk of self-harm if incarcerated.
Rofiah told Santhiea to use her “new breath of life” to serve her family and the nation moving forward.
Santhiea was initially charged with murder for throwing her baby from a flat in Bandar Baru Air Itam in 2020 when she was 18, but the charge was later reduced to infanticide.
She pleaded guilty under Section 309A of the Penal Code, which applies to mothers suffering mental disturbance after childbirth, and would have faced five months in prison if the fine had not been paid by her family.
